Tradition and Innovation: Undergraduate Conference in History (CEU, August 3-6, 2017)

The Department of History and the Department of Medieval Studies at Central European University in Budapest invite undergraduate students to rethink the manifestations and roles of tradition and innovation in history at the “Tradition and Innovation in Historical Perspective” Undergraduate Conference, which is scheduled for August 3-6, 2017.

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The history of humankind is a story of continuous innovation and rejection of innovation, from prehistory to the present. New technologies were introduced in agricultural production, new materials, processes and implements came into use in handicrafts and industry, new forms of physical and intellectual communication were invented and new networks of interaction between communities were put into practice. At the same time, communities of varying size increasingly relied on passing these now established methods and beliefs from one generation to the next, using these traditions and heritage as a resource for survival and for creating a variety of identities.

The description and explanation for all these processes and their dynamic interplay has long been a task of historical studies, and has remained on the agenda of historians, art historians, archaeologists, and cultural heritage professionals down to the present. Significantly, modern historiography has been particularly concerned with the ambiguities of the very concepts of tradition and innovation, pointing especially to the processes of construction (e.g. “invented traditions”) and transmission (“networks,” “transfers” and “entanglements”) that shaped them.

The Department of History and the Department of Medieval Studies at Central European University in Budapest invite undergraduate students to rethink the manifestations and roles of tradition and innovation in history at the “Tradition and Innovation in Historical Perspective” Undergraduate Conference, which is scheduled for August 3-6, 2017. The departments invite proposals for papers from undergraduates around the world who are interested in any aspect of tradition and innovation in a historical perspective. Proposals from all thematic areas (social history, economic history, military history, political history, cultural history, history of material culture, gender history, religious history, intellectual history, cultural heritage studies, art history, archaeology, and so on) and all historical periods will be considered. Preference, however, will be given to proposals with interesting approaches and well defined research questions, objectives, and results.

Proposals:
•the language of the conference and the papers is English
•proposals should not exceed 250 words
•deadline: Sunday, 7 May, 2017. Late applications will be considered on a case by case basis
•students will be notified about the acceptance of their proposal by 19 May, 2017

Paper requirements:
•papers should be 2000 to max. 3000 words long
•deadline: Monday, July 24, 2017
•at the conference participants will present a 10-12 minute summary of their papers in thematic panels.
•Guidelines to write the paper

Registration:

Conference participants must register for the conference by Tuesday, May 31, 2017 by paying the conference fee (payment instructions will be announced soon). The conference fee is 75 EUR and includes:
•Three nights’ accommodation in single rooms in the CEU Residence Center
•Breakfast
•Coffee breaks
•Receptions
•Guided tours
•72 hour public transport pass
•Free Wi-Fi

Application Form here

Organizers:

Matthias Riedl, Head of Department of History

Katalin Szende, Head of Department of Medieval Studies

Contact person:

Agnes Bendik, Department of History
For inquiries, please e-mail us undergraduateconference2017@ceu.edu